


sweater weather

by denkis



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: I'm just super soft for Kenma wearing Kuroo's oversized clothes, M/M, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27610493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/denkis/pseuds/denkis
Summary: Kenma takes a deep breath. Fuck it. “Can I wash the hoodie you gave me?”Kuroo stares at him for a moment, obviously confused. “Uh, yeah? You don’t really need my permission for that.”“No, I don’t mean-” Kenma stops, rubbing a hand over his face. “I mean, can I wash it at your place.”“Oh! Well, yeah, sure. Is your washing machine broken?”“No.” Kenma says, and then immediately wishes he’d said yes. It would be so much easier to just lie about this.“So why....?” Kuroo looks confused again, and it’s frustratingly cute.“I, uh, I like the way your clothes smell.”------or, where kenma slowly builds a collection of Kuroo's oversized clothes, and doesn't realise how attached he is to them (and their owner)
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 15
Kudos: 320





	sweater weather

**Author's Note:**

> hiii :D i was aiming to have this out for kuroo's birthday, but its now an hour late whoopsie
> 
> anyway, here's me projecting onto kenma for nearly 3k words, sorry if its ooc, i've never written kuroken before
> 
> as always, comments and kudos are hugely appreciated. ily <3

It starts, as most things in Kenma’s life start, with Kuroo encouraging him to do something that he would rather skip in favour of playing the new game he got for his Switch.

A water fight with the rest of the volleyball team isn’t exactly in Kenma’s top five ideas of fun.

In fact, not even ten minutes into it, Kenma is a shivering mess and opts to sit out in the sun for as long as he can, attempting to dry his sodden hair.

Kuroo notices, of course he does. Kuroo never doesn’t notice. After a few minutes of shivering, Kenma finds himself on the receiving end of one of Kuroo’s hoodies being launched directly into his face.

He unfolds it without even so much as a glance in Kuroo’s direction, and then stalks in the direction of the changing rooms in order to strip his wet t shirt and replace it with the dry, oversized hoodie.

When he returns, Kuroo must have said something to the rest of the team, as they pointedly aim everywhere but in Kenma’s direction. He’s content, then, to sit against the side of the gym’s outside wall and play his game, bundled in the large hoodie and surrounded by Kuroo’s familiar scent.

———

The next time it happens, Kenma ends up unintentionally staying the night at Kuroo’s house.

He rarely stays over, usually choosing to take the short walk home in order to sleep in his actual bed. But this time, Kuroo had insisted that he stay the night as they’d accidentally spent much longer than they expected trying to clear a level on the new co-op game Kenma had brought round.

Kenma steps out of the shower and grabs a towel, quickly realising that the only clothes he has to change back into are his school shirt and pants. He’s about to call out to ask Kuroo if he could borrow a pair of sweatpants and an old shirt, when he opens the door to a small pile of clothes waiting on the carpet.

He feels the tiniest of smiles pull at his face, before he picks up the pile and starts to dress in the bathroom.

When he steps back into Kuroo’s room, his friend is already lying in bed with the spare futon made up on the floor. He expects Kuroo to laugh at the way Kenma’s had to roll up the pants he’s been given, or the way the shirt hangs off his shoulders a little, but instead he sees the hint of a blush rise on Kuroo’s cheekbones through the dark.

Kenma quickly delves into the blankets, a little chilly from the cool air in the room and is pleasantly surprised to find that Kuroo has given him an extra blanket. He isn’t sure when Kuroo started knowing him better than he knows himself, but if it means he doesn’t have to ask for things, Kenma sees no point in complaining.

If Kenma falls asleep quicker and more comfortably on Kuroo’s spare futon with the blanket pulled close to his nose, nobody needs to know.

———

The third time, Kuroo and Kenma are walking home from practice late in the evening.

Kenma struggled to sleep the night before and had been for a few nights. At first, he’d refused to accept the real reason why, and had blamed it on random bouts of insomnia.

After the fourth day, Kenma has finally acknowledged it, as much as it pains him.

He can’t sleep without Kuroo’s scent.

Last night, Kenma had dragged himself out of bed and rifled through his bottom drawer, which has unintentionally become his Kuroo Drawer. In it, there’s a small collection of hoodies, t-shirts and pyjamas that he’s accumulated over the years of their friendships.

He’s glad Kuroo has never once asked for them back, or even really mentioned them, as shoving the hoodie he received during the water fight into his face last night had worked as some sort of relaxant.

Which leads to his current issue. The hoodie was the only thing that still smelled like Kuroo. And now, after sleeping with it for most of the night, it’s starting to lose it.

Kenma isn’t sure he can handle another sleepless night. It’s affecting his volleyball, and he knows Kuroo can tell.

“Kuro.” Kenma says, efficiently interrupting the quiet chatter Kuroo had started the second they started walking.

“Hm?”

“Please could I-” Kenma begins, and then he remembers that he has some dignity. He can’t just ask this. Can he?

“Can you what? Are you okay?” Kuroo asks, stopping in the middle of the pavement to look at Kenma with concern.

Kenma takes a deep breath. Fuck it. “Can I wash the hoodie you gave me?”

Kuroo stares at him for a moment, obviously confused. “Uh, yeah? You don’t really need my permission for that.”

“No, I don’t mean-” Kenma stops, rubbing a hand over his face. He’s an embarrassment to himself, and this conversation will haunt him for the next thirty years. “I mean, can I wash it at your place.”

“Oh! Well, yeah, sure. Is your washing machine broken?” Kuroo asks, starting to walk again.

“No.” Kenma says, and then immediately wishes he’d said yes. It would be so much easier to just lie about this. But, this is Kuroo, his closest friend. He’ll find out eventually.

“So why....?” Kuroo looks confused again, and it’s frustratingly cute.

“I, uh, I like the way your clothes smell.”

There’s a beat of silence. And then, “Kenma! Why didn’t you just say? I can give you more clothes that I don’t wear if you want them!”

And suddenly Kenma can breathe again, not that he’d even noticed that he’d stopped. Of course, Kuroo wouldn’t find it weird. Or even if he did, he accepts Kenma so thoroughly that it could never be an issue. Kenma feels his face heat up.

———

And that’s how Kenma ends up with two drawers of Kuroo’s clothes. If he needs something washing, he brings it over to Kuroo’s and slips it into the washing basket, reclaiming it once it’s been dried. It’s a nice routine, and Kenma hasn’t had difficulties sleeping in a few weeks. The team is doing great.

It also helps that Kuroo hasn’t questioned it once. It’s just another Kenma Thing.

The bigger issue on Kenma’s plate now is that he’s realised that not only is stealing clothes from your best friend just to smell them a little weird, but that he’s actually in a little deeper than he thought.

Kenma likes Kuroo.

Which should come of more of surprise to Kenma than it does. In the movies it’s usually a big moment where they notice it, but for Kenma, it was just a case of noticing the depth of the Kuroo-shaped imprints in his life, how his presence filled every single crevice there was to fill. How Kenma has never really craved company before, but now he feels the itches of loneliness scratching at the pit of his stomach when he’s without Kuroo for longer than usual. How he considers trying to make a little more room for Kuroo in his life, before realising he doesn’t have to. The space was carved out years ago.

———

They’re at a training camp with Fukurodani a few weeks later when Kenma is forced to actually deal with his feelings.

The practice matches are exhausting. The extra practice matches that Bokuto and Kuroo insist on are even worse.

When Kenma collapses against his futon on the first evening, he expects to fall asleep within seconds. Instead, he tosses and turns for close to an hour, getting more and more frustrated as the night goes on.

He checks his phone, counting down the hours left of potential sleep he has. And then, with a sigh, he reaches into his bag to grab the hoodie he _knows_ he packed.

Except, it’s not there. His movements become a little more frantic, as frantic as they can be without disturbing his teammates (although Taketora’s horrendous snoring covers most of it). He’s this close to tipping his entire bag upside down, when the futon next to him moves and he sees the outline of Kuroo sitting up through the dark room.

“Kenma?” he whispers.

“Go back to sleep.” Kenma replies, resigning himself to a night of minimal sleep when he finally gives up on locating the hoodie. Then, he remembers that he left it neatly folded on his bed. He fights a groan.

“Are you okay?” Kuroo says, leaning forward a little.

“Yeah, it’s fine, go to sleep.”

“No, you’re not okay, what’s up?”

“I just can’t sleep, it’s fine.”

“Stop saying it’s fine!” Kuroo whispers aggressively. Taketora’s snoring pauses for a moment, and they both freeze and turn in his direction. Eventually, he continues, and they sigh in relief. “What were you looking for?” he asks, quieter this time.

“Nothing!”

“Kenma.”

“Kuro.”

Kuroo sighs. “Fine then, don’t tell me. But if you wake up late tomorrow, I’ll tell Bokuto that you want to do some extra practice.”

Kenma knows that Kuroo wouldn’t do that. However, he fears Bokuto’s extra practice more than he trusts Kuroo not to ask, so he relents.

“I can’t sleep without your clothes.” Kenma says, so fast and quietly that he hopes Kuroo doesn’t hear and chooses to move on. But it’s Kuroo, so that would literally never happen.

“Without my..?” Kuroo begins, looking confused.

“Without your clothes. They help me sleep.” Kenma inwardly waves goodbye to his dignity.

There’s silence for a few moments, and Kenma pointedly looks everywhere but at Kuroo. He’s just about to start making some sort of an excuse, when he hears the rustling of Kuroo’s blanket and a dip in his futon.

Without a word, Kuroo lies down awkwardly on the edge of Kenma’s futon, waiting for Kenma to lie back down.

Kenma gives it a brief thought. He then decides it’s just easier to not question anything and leave it until the morning. He slides back down until he is lying next to Kuroo, and if his heart pounds a little harder when Kuroo reaches out and pulls Kenma so he’s curled up against his chest, nobody needs to know about it.

Surrounded by the warmth of his best friend, Kenma inhales softly and drifts off.

———

They don’t talk about it in the morning, as when Kenma wakes up, Kuroo has already gone to take a shower.

Yaku keeps looking at him with knowing eyes. Kenma doesn’t know what to do about it.

So, in his usual fashion, he ignores it.

Kuroo doesn’t force him into extra practice, despite the fact he slept in.

At night, they don’t exchange many words. They brush their teeth and roll out their futons together, but their (read: Kuroo’s) usual chatter is nowhere to be seen.

When the lights go out, Kenma worries momentarily that he will have to ask Kuroo to sleep with him again, but not even five minutes into his mini panic, he hears the tell-tale sound of Kuroo shifting his blanket to get under Kenma’s.

Kenma allows himself a small smile, before he snuggles into Kuroo’s chest, his strong arms around him.

———

He doesn’t know what time it is, but it isn’t light yet, and he’s being shaken awake.

Kenma groans and stretches a little, nearly smacking Kuroo in the face.

“Wha-?” Kenma murmurs, still half asleep.

“Can you come with me for a sec?” Kuroo whispers, already beginning to stand up from the futon.

Kenma sighs and stands up with him, accepting a hand to help him up.

They both make their way out of the room, trying not to wake up any of their teammates. Kenma nearly steps on Lev’s face but manages to avoid him at the last minute.

Blearily, Kenma follows Kuroo’s lead through the darkened hallways, until they’re leaving the building and stepping outside onto a little balcony.

Kenma’s thankful for his thick socks as they stand in the chilly air. He tilts his head up at Kuroo inquisitively, waiting for him to explain.

Kuroo is avoiding eye contact. He also appears to be going through some kind of inner conflict, based on the weird scrunchy thing he’s doing with his face. It’s endearing, not that Kenma would ever admit that aloud.

He feels a shiver rack through his body, and this startles Kuroo out of his thoughts.

“Shit, sorry. I know it’s cold. I just didn’t want to be with the team. Here, take my jacket.” Kuroo says, shrugging it off his shoulders and wrapping it around Kenma, holding it around his front to keep it closed. He keeps his hand there as he works out his next sentence.

“The clothes thing. Is it a comfort thing or is it more? Am I reading too deep into this?” Kuroo says, still gripping the front of the jacket.

“It was a comfort thing.” Kenma replies, looking at the ground. “It was. But then I realised I can’t sleep without your smell.” Reading into his words any further than just the surface level makes his feelings ridiculously obvious. Kuroo’s clever. Kenma knows that he knows.

He doesn’t even notice that he’s squeezing his eyes shut, waiting for the awkward rejection or worse, laughter, until he feels Kuroo’s cold finger lifting up his chin.

“So… I’m not reading too deep?”

“What do you mean?”

“Um. Okay. Tell me if you don’t want this. Please.” Kuroo says, and then it hits Kenma that he’s about to be _kissed_ and he nods so frantically that he nearly knocks into Kuroo’s head.

As far as first kisses go, it’s pretty tame. It’s just a chaste bump of lips. Kenma imagines that Kuroo has had much better kisses in his lifetime, and the stubbornness inside him rises to the challenge.

Kenma reaches out and wraps his arms around Kuroo’s shoulders, knocking the jacket to the floor, pulling him back in impatiently. Their noses knock together and it’s _so embarrassing_ until it isn’t because Kuroo’s angled his head properly and now they can move better and breathe better and it’s _intoxicating_ because all Kenma can smell is the same scent that’s haunted him for weeks and it’s the best thing he’s ever experienced and then-

Kuroo pulls back, breathing heavily and cheeks flushed. He’s beautiful. Kenma wouldn’t consider himself poetic, but the way the moonlight lights up his face and his stupid bedhead is almost ethereal. He knows he’ll cringe about this later, but for now, he lets himself just have this.

“So.” Kuroo starts. “I wasn’t reading too deep then?”

Kenma punches him lightly in the stomach.

“Okay, okay, fine. But can I at least hear you say it out loud? So I know this isn’t one sided?”

“You haven’t even said it yet.” Kenma says, delaying the inevitable. He’s never really opened his heart properly to someone before, and while he knows it’s gonna be an absolute pain in the ass and will make him cringe for the next few weeks to come, there’s nobody else he’d rather do it with than Kuroo.

“Fair enough. Okay, Kenma. I really, really like you. I want to take you on cute dates and cuddle at night and play games with you.” Kuroo says, and although the kiss had kind of been a big confirmation, Kenma still feels a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

_It’s mutual._

“We already do two of those things.”

“Yeah, but like, now we can do them romantically.”

“You’re a sap.”

“And _you_ still haven’t told me that you like me back.”

“Fine. I like you.” Kenma says, trying to fight the smile that is threatening to make its way onto his face.

“I really like it when you wear my clothes.”

“I like wearing them too.”

When he looks up, Kuroo is beaming. And then Kenma can see the second Kuroo feels how cold it is outside. He bends down, grabs the jacket and then takes Kenma’s hand.

Kenma absolutely doesn’t blush as Kuroo walks them back to where the rest of their teammates are sleeping. He doesn’t.

He tries to let go of Kuroo’s hand as he crawls back into his futon, but Kuroo only tightens his grip and interlaces their fingers as he gets in after him.

Kenma takes a second before he closes his eyes to press a quick kiss to Kuroo’s lips. Then, he flushes furiously and burrows his face as deep into Kuroo’s chest as he possibly can.

———

When Kenma wakes up, he’s not alone. And he doesn’t just mean that Kuroo’s there. In fact, for once, Kuroo is still asleep. It’s a rare sight, and Kenma would treasure it, if it weren’t for the sound of the other third years gagging across the room.

Kenma turns around, softly so he doesn’t wake Kuroo, and sends his worst glare at Yaku and Kai, who both collapse over themselves in laughter.

“It’s about time!” Yaku cries in between snorts.

“I hope you choke.” Kuroo deadpans from where his face is pressed directly into the pillow.

“I’m sure you’ll be doing the choking soon.”

Suddenly, the pillow has been removed from under Kenma’s head. From his position on Kuroo’s chest, he hears, rather than sees, the sound of Yaku being fucking obliterated by a chunky memory foam pillow. 

**Author's Note:**

> uhhhhhh so yeah. i don't love her as much as my previous works, i may come back and edit her another time!
> 
> I'M ALSO SHIT AT ENDINGS SEND HELP 
> 
> but for now, here she is, happy birthday kuroo u sexy sexy man!!


End file.
